


Christmas at Serena's

by robliz



Category: Holby City
Genre: Christmas, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-14 18:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9198146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robliz/pseuds/robliz





	1. Bernie

“Spend Christmas with me?”

Bernie looked down at the woman currently lying underneath her on the sofa.

“Serena I can’t, I said I’d have the kids round.”

“Bring them here, the more the merrier,” said Serena, pulling down Bernie for a kiss. Bernie indulged her in the kiss for a few moments before pulling back and looking at Serena again.

“But what about Elinor?” she asked.

“She’ll be fine with it, I’m sure.”

“But you haven’t told her about me yet have you? Isn’t it a bit much throwing all this on her at once?”

“She’s a big girl. I’m sure she’ll cope. Besides, I don’t think I can bear to spend a day apart from you, my beautiful Berenice.”

Bernie blushed and looked away. She still wasn’t used to Serena’s way of showing her emotions so openly.

“Come here you,” said Serena, running her hands up Bernie’s arms to her neck and pulling her down on top of her again. Bernie let her. It was impossible to resist Serena Campbell when she was like this. Their lips met and Bernie forgot her concerns about Christmas as Serena ran her hands down Bernie’s back and slipped them under the waistband of her trousers. Bernie groaned into Serena’s mouth as hands squeezed her bottom. She let her own hands run up Serena’s sides under her shirt up to her bra. She could feel Serena’s nipples hardening under her touch.

“I think we need to take this upstairs,” she muttered, briefly pulling her lips away from Serena’s, “Don’t want prying eyes finding us.”

Serena sighed and pulled her hands out of Bernie’s trousers.

“Only if you promise to spend Christmas with me,” she said, her eyes glinting wickedly.

Bernie looked down at her again. It was hopeless really, how could she pretend that she didn’t want to spend every minute of every day with Serena, the most beautiful, kind, loving woman on the entire planet. She bit her bottom lip as Serena began unbuttoning her own shirt.

“Just giving you a taste of what you would be missing out on if you don’t agree,” whispered Serena as her lacy black bra came into view.

Bernie closed her eyes.

“Okay,” she whispered, “Okay I’ll spend Christmas with you and bring the kids. Now let’s get upstairs before Jason sees something he really shouldn’t.”


	2. Elinor

“Leave your stuff in the car for the moment and come inside. I’ve got something I need to tell you,” Serena said, her voice trembling slightly, as she stepped out of the car.

Elinor followed, somewhat confused, only grabbing her handbag from the car. The drive from the station had be normal. Serena had asked her usual array of questions about how university was going and what she planned to do with her break. And now her calm, confident mother was visibly nervous about something. Something which she clearly hadn’t mentioned to Elinor before the holidays. She wondered whether it was something her mum was trying to keep a secret or if it was the kind of thing you only tell people in person. Something bad like cancer.

“You okay mum?” she asked as Serena fumbled with the keys.

“Me? Yes. Fine,” came the reply but Serena’s face told a different story. Her cheeks were flushed red and her eyes seemed to be darting around everywhere but Elinor. The door keys fell to the floor with a clatter.

Elinor bent down and picked them up. She unlocked the door and held it open for her mum. Serena took a deep breath before walking into the house, removing her coat and shoes and heading towards the sitting room. Elinor shut the front door and followed her through.

There was someone else in the sitting room. A woman of a similar age to her mother. Pretty, with blonde, wavy hair and a slim figure. Elinor smiled at the woman, wondering who she was. Serena sat herself down next to this woman and reached across to grab her hand in a firm grip. The strange woman looked at Serena with a look in her eyes that Elinor couldn’t identify. Was it pity? Was this woman here to nurse Serena through some horrendous illness?

Elinor sat down in one of the chairs and stared at the pair of them, waiting for one of them to speak. There were a few minutes of uncomfortable silence in which the two women opposite Elinor appeared to have a silent conversation with their eyes. Eventually Serena turned to Elinor and spoke.

“Elinor, this is Bernie.”

Bernie looked up at Elinor from under her fringe. She was wearing the same nervous look as Serena.

“Hi,” she breathed, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Elinor said nothing. She was still waiting for the explanation of what was going on here.

Serena opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again. Silence fell again.

Then there was a sudden noise from upstairs and footsteps on the stairs. Jason burst into the sitting room, oblivious to the tension in the room.

“Hi Elinor. Are you back from university for the holidays? Auntie Serena said she was going to pick you up today.”

“Hi Jason,” Elinor said. She hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know her new cousin. If she was honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted to get to know him. She had preferred it when she could come home to her mum’s and find everything just as it had been when she was a child. Jason was not easy at the best of times and everything seemed to have changed since he moved in. Still, she tried her best to be understanding.

“You are very quiet today. That’s not like you. Has Auntie Serena told you about...”

“That’s enough Jason,” said Serena, firmly but kindly cutting him off. “Elinor has only just walked in the door, let’s try not to completely overwhelm her. Why don’t you go back upstairs and play on your Xbox a bit longer? I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”

Jason shrugged his shoulders and headed back up the stairs without another word. Elinor turned back to the two women on the sofa.

“Will someone please tell me what is going on?” she said, exasperated at the lack of communication from her mother.

Serena turned to Bernie with a pained look in her eyes.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” Elinor heard Bernie whisper to her mother before squeezing her hand.

Serena turned and looked at Elinor again.

“Bernie is… Well I am… We are…”

She shot another look at Bernie before continuing.

“Me and Bernie are together,” Serena said all in one breath.

Elinor looked at the two of them for a moment. Looked again at their joined hands. Looked at the lack of space between them. Looked at the way Bernie wasn’t taking her eyes off Serena.

“Like together, together?” she asked.

Serena nodded.

Elinor stood up and walked into the kitchen. She didn’t know what to say, what to do. How were you supposed to react to your mother suddenly announcing she was in a lesbian relationship? What she really wanted was a line of coke to calm her nerves. But that was hidden in the depths of her suitcase which was still in the car outside. She poured herself a glass of water and turned to find Serena stood in the doorway.

“Elinor?” she said quietly.

Elinor said nothing.

“Are you okay?” Serena said, coming into the room and reaching out towards Elinor. Elinor jumped back as Serena’s hand came into contact with her arm. Serena dropped her hand immediately and Elinor saw a wave of sorrow cross her mother’s face.

“Do you know what mother? I’m not okay actually. What do you expect really when you suddenly announce that you are a lesbian? Who even is this Bernie? Do you even know anything about her or have you just fallen into bed with the nearest available woman? Did you think about me at all in any of this? How will this look to my friends? What about dad?”

“Elinor I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but it is all very new.” Serena said, pleading with her daughter with her eyes.

The sound of the front door closing broke their stares. Elinor looked at her mother questioningly.

“Bernie thought it best if she went home, give us a chance to talk things through,” Serena explained, “Will you come back through so we can discuss this?”

“I don’t think so mum. I don’t need to hear all the sordid details.”

“Ellie…”

“I’m going out. I suppose I’ll see you in the morning.”

Elinor seized her handbag from the side and stalked into the hallway.

“Ellie, please!” Serena said, following Elinor out of the kitchen.

“No mum. Run off back to your dyke lover and leave me alone,” Elinor said angrily as she pulled on her shoes and coat.

She buttoned up her coat and fled out of the door, letting it slam shut behind her. She wasn’t going to deal with this revelation, not today at least. What she needed now was to find a nice bar and someone willing to sell her a few grams of coke. She pulled her phone out of her bag and rang an old school friend.

“Hannah! Don’t suppose you’re up for a night pretending that the rest of the world doesn’t exist?”


	3. Charlotte

She was more nervous than she expected. She’d met Serena briefly before and Cam had told her lots about her. But it was a very strange feeling going around to your mum’s new girlfriend’s house for Christmas. She’d been wary of the invitation when her mum had rung her a few days ago to suggest this change of plan but listening to her mum speak about Serena she couldn’t help but say yes. She couldn’t remember a time where her mum had sounded so happy and calm. Spending Christmas with new people wasn’t really such a big deal when your mum and brother would be there too.

Cam picked her up from their dad’s house. It was weird being back there for the holidays. She was used to her mum not being around much but now all traces of her had been removed from the house. With Cam living in a shared house with some of his doctor friends, the house seemed strangely soulless. Dad was working today so there had been no difficulty with which parent they should spend Christmas with. That made things easier. She remembered from her childhood, friends whose parents had divorced having to deal with fights over where they would spend Christmas day.

Cam pulled the car up in front of a huge house with a beautifully manicured garden. Charlotte wasn’t sure how it could still look so nice in the depths of winter but Serena (or her gardener) must have known exactly what they were doing. They both climbed out of the car and walked up the short path to the wooden door, decorated with a tasteful wreath. Before they even had a chance to knock, the door was flung open and their mother bounded out and wrapped them both up in a huge bear hug.

“Merry Christmas, my darlings” she said, kissing both of them in turn. Charlotte almost cried at seeing her mother express emotions like this. It was wonderful to see her so confident in her feelings, so relaxed.

“Merry Christmas, mum,” she said quietly.

Bernie released her children and Cam walked straight into the house, looking almost at home. Charlotte stood still for a moment, looking into the unfamiliar house. Bernie wrapped her arm around Charlotte’s shoulder.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Charlotte allowed herself to be steered into the house by her mother. They found most of the household in the sitting room. Serena was perched on the end of one sofa while Cam and a boy Charlotte assumed was Jason shared the other. Cam might have only entered the house a moment ago, but him and Jason were already deep in conversation about what might happen in that evening’s episode of Doctor Who and didn’t even glance up as they entered the room. Serena stood up as she saw Charlotte and Bernie.

“Charlotte, it’s so nice to see you again,” she said, grasping Charlotte’s hand in both of hers. Charlotte smiled at her. There was something about Serena that made you like her instantly. She could see why her mother had fallen for her.

“This is Jason, my nephew,” continued Serena, indicating the boy next to Cam.

Jason looked up, “Hello Charlotte. Cam has told me lots about you. Do you like Doctor Who?”

Charlotte nodded. She felt very shy in this new setting, not sure how to react to everything. Her mother squeezed her shoulder gently to reassure her.

“Now that everyone else is here, I suppose I should go and see how Elinor is getting on,” Serena said heading out of the room.

“Cousin Elinor is very grumpy in the mornings,” announced Jason, “She won’t like it if you wake her up.”

“No, she won’t but it is Christmas and she should be awake and down here with the rest of us,” came Serena’s voice from the hallway.

Bernie led Charlotte over to the now vacated sofa and they sat down. Bernie kept her arm firmly around her daughter, for which Charlotte was grateful. She could get rather nervous around new people but she always felt safe when her mother was around.

Muffled shouting came from upstairs and Bernie stiffened.

“So how's uni going Charlotte?” she asked, clearly trying to ignore the sounds from upstairs.

“It’s fine,” she replied, “Got some exams coming up in January that I need to revise for.”

The noise upstairs seemed to get louder. Then there was a bang of a door being slammed shut and footsteps on the stairs. Seconds later, Serena appeared in the doorway with a smile on her face.

“Elinor will be down shortly, then we can make a start on the presents.”

The smile on Serena’s face stayed firmly in place until she was seated back on the sofa next to Bernie. It only dropped for a moment as Bernie turned to her and brushed a hand gently across her cheek. Charlotte could see in that moment the love between these women. She averted her eyes, not wanting to intrude on such a private moment.

It was half an hour later that Elinor finally made an appearance. Jason and Cam had started a game of Uno and had dragged the rest of them onto the floor to join in. Elinor walked in, took one look at the game going on in front of her and slumped down into the armchair in the corner of the room.

Charlotte glanced up at her. She was about the same age as her and stunningly beautiful. Even though she was clearly in a bad mood at the moment, she had a presence about her, a confidence that Charlotte wished she had herself.

“Elinor, come and meet Bernie’s children,” said Serena in an overly cheerful voice. Elinor just raised one eyebrow in response.

“Actually Ellie, can you take my place in the game? I need to go and check on dinner,” Serena continued, ignoring the look on Elinor’s face.

Serena stood and headed into the kitchen. Charlotte watched her mother as Bernie’s eyes followed Serena out of the room.

Elinor sat down in a chair in the corner of the room showing no enthusiasm for the game. Jason tried to pass her Serena’s cards but quickly returned to the floor following a withering glare from Elinor. Charlotte was disappointed. She had kind of hoped that she might be able to talk to Elinor today. After all, how many other people would understand the situation they’d ended up in? But Elinor was showing no signs of wanting to get to know any of the people in the room at all. Charlotte supposed it must be very strange to come home for Christmas to find your mum had invited over a houseful of people you didn’t know. Even Jason was new to the family.

The game ended soon afterwards and Bernie excused herself from the room to help Serena in the kitchen leaving the four children alone in the sitting room. Jason immediately dragged Cameron upstairs to his room to show him some new gadget or something. Charlotte was asked but she declined politely.

Elinor continued to sit in the corner of the room. She had her phone out and was clearly messaging someone almost non-stop. Charlotte took a deep breath and approached her with the same trepidation you might approach a crocodile.

“Hi Elinor,” she said quietly.

Elinor looked up from her phone with a disdainful look.

“I’m Charlotte,” said Charlotte, holding out her hand to Elinor, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Elinor looked at the proffered hand but made no move to shake it.

“Look Charlotte, I’m sure you are very nice but I do not feel the need to get to know you just because our mothers have decided they are lesbians all of a sudden. Why don’t you hurry off back to your mother now and leave me here in peace?” Elinor said, in a voice that was all sweetness and light despite the harsh words. Charlotte stepped back in shock then turned on her heels and ran out of the room.

From the hallway, she could see into the kitchen. She walked towards it hoping to find her mother, then stopped in the doorway as she saw her mother and Serena wrapped in an embrace. They were clearly having a conversation but in words too soft for Charlotte to hear. Their foreheads were pressed together, Serena’s arms around Bernie’s shoulders and Bernie’s arms around Serena’s waist. As Charlotte stood and watched them, Bernie began to place gentle kisses onto Serena’s face, onto her closed eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her lips. A contented smile spread across Serena’s face before she pulled Bernie close and kissed her firmly on the lips. Charlotte was struck by the love radiating off the pair of them. She couldn’t intrude on this moment. She stepped silently back into the hallway wondering where she should go. She couldn’t face going back into the sitting room with only Elinor there.

There was a shelf of books lining the hallway. Charlotte scanned the titles of the books until she found something familiar. She pulled the copy of Jane Eyre off the shelf and settled down on the bottom of the stairs to read.


	4. Jason

Jason didn’t really understand why Charlotte was reading on the bottom of the stairs when he and Cam came back downstairs. Why hadn’t she gone and sat on one of the sofas in the sitting room to read? It would have been much comfier and it was quiet in there as well. He opened his mouth to question her decision but Cameron put a hand on his arm.

“Leave her to me,” he said and Jason nodded. He walked past Charlotte and into the sitting room. Only Elinor was in there and she didn’t look up at him as he entered. He didn’t mind. It was easier that way. He never knew what to say to his cousin.

“Auntie Serena,” he shouted, “Are we going to do presents now? You said we could open presents when Elinor got up.”

“Just coming Jason,” came the shout from the kitchen.

It was moments later that Serena and Bernie, closely followed by Cameron and Charlotte, came into the sitting room. Jason could tell that the easy feeling of this morning had vanished when Elinor got up and it still hadn’t improved. He didn’t know what to say or do to help so he busied himself with sorting the pile of presents under the tree into smaller piles next to the feet of the people in the room. Charlotte pulled a few extras out of her bag and passed them to him when she noticed what he was doing. He smiled at her. He didn’t really understand Charlotte yet but she seemed nice. She was quiet and that was always a positive.

Once the presents were sorted he looked up at his Auntie Serena for permission to start opening them. Auntie Serena wasn’t looking at him. As usual she was staring at Bernie. Jason wondered if they ever got bored of just looking at each other. It was all they seemed to do these days.

“Auntie Serena!” he said loudly.

She jumped slightly but turned to him with a gentle smile on her face, “Yes Jason?”

“Will you stop looking at Bernie so that we can open the presents?”

Auntie Serena’s face went bright red and everyone laughed at her embarrassment. Even Elinor choked back a giggle.

“Of course Jason,” she replied as Bernie buried her face in Serena’s shoulder, shoulders heaving as she tried to contain herself.

Everyone reached for their first present. Jason was intrigued by how everyone opened their presents differently. Cam tore the wrapping paper off quickly to get at what was inside. Charlotte had a more measured approach but there was no way the wrapping paper would be usable again. Auntie Serena was meticulous with her removal of the sellotape and flattening out and folding the wrapping paper before she glanced at what had been unwrapped. Bernie seemed to be struggling with the sellotape and couldn’t seemed to get into the wrapping until Serena gave her a hand and a pair of scissors. Elinor was careful with her opening but just threw the paper into the middle without bothering about keeping it tidy. Jason copied his Auntie Serena and carefully folded the wrapping paper into a pile next to him.

His first present was from Auntie Serena. It was a new game for his Xbox. He thanked her before moving onto the next one. This was from Bernie. He hadn’t known Bernie very long and he wondered how good she was at giving presents. He had seen the bottle of wine she had bought for Auntie Serena when she came back from Kiev. That was probably a good present for Auntie Serena. She definitely liked wine anyway. Maybe Bernie would be good at giving gifts.

He opened the present carefully. It was box shaped so it was easy to slide the present out before all the sellotape was off. It was a box set of Doctor Who Christmas specials. So Bernie could give good presents!

“Thank you Bernie,” he said, “I really like it. Can I watch it now?”

“You can watch them after lunch Jason,” said Auntie Serena. She wasn’t looking at him though. She was staring straight at Bernie again with a distant look in her eyes. And Bernie was staring at her hands and blushing.

Jason turned away from them and rooted through his pile to find one from Elinor. He had noticed she was looking a little left out over in the corner. He opened the present and looked at it confused. It appeared to be a plain black mug. He looked up at Elinor to thank her. His mum had always taught him to say thank you for gifts even if you didn’t really like them.

“It changes when you put hot water in it,” Elinor said suddenly. Jason frowned at her. She continued, “When you put hot water in it, it reveals the marauders’ map on the side.”

Jason smiled as he understood. “Thank you Elinor. This is a really nice gift.”

Elinor smiled back at him and then excused herself from the room.

When she returned, she looked happier, brighter than before. Jason was glad. He didn’t want his cousin to be unhappy.


	5. Cameron

Christmas lunch couldn’t come soon enough for Cameron. It was always his favourite part of Christmas Day and he had been looking forward to it ever since his mum asked him if he wanted to go to Serena’s for Christmas. His mum was not the greatest cook in the world and the prospect of her cooking a full roast had not excited him. She would try, sure. She always tried her best at things like that but inevitably something would go horribly wrong. Serena on the other hand was a fantastic cook. Cameron had been invited to dinner once before at Serena’s and the lasagne had been amazing. Maybe some of Serena’s cooking skills would rub off on his mum, like her affectionateness seemed to have.

Cameron happily helped Jason set the table as Serena and Bernie finished off the cooking and started to serve out. Bernie looked ridiculously pleased when Serena handed her the knife and told her to carve the turkey. Thick slices of succulent meat were served up onto the waiting plates and were soon joined by roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, vegetables of every colour and pigs in blankets. The gravy was poured into a pristinely white gravy boat and placed in the centre of the table. Red and gold Christmas crackers sat next to the knifes at each place setting. White wine was retrieved from the fridge and the red that had been set aside to air sat next to it on the side. Sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and a jug of water appeared from the kitchen in turn. Cameron’s mouth watered at the sight of the food.

“Grubs up!” shouted Bernie from the kitchen as she brought through the first two plates.

“Really Bernie!” exclaimed Serena, following her up with the next couple of plate, “I think there might be a politer way of saying that.”

Bernie grinned. She put down the plates in her hand and took Serena’s off her. With those plates safely down on the table, she turned back and wrapped her arms around Serena, pulling her close.

“Since when have you cared about me being polite!” she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Elinor walked in at that moment, made a gagging sound and walked back out again. Serena pulled away from Bernie and started to go after her. Bernie grabbed her arm.

“Let her go,” Bernie said quietly, her thumb rubbing Serena’s arm gently. Cameron turned away, this moment somehow more private than the one before.

Charlotte slipped quietly into the room and took a seat next to Cameron. Jason brought in the last two plates and Elinor reappeared just as they pulled the first cracker. Soon everyone around the table (with the notable exception of Elinor) was wearing a brightly coloured hat and laughing at the terrible jokes from the crackers.

Cameron dug into the food on his plate with gusto. It really was spectacular food. He told Serena as much and she laughed.

“It wasn’t me who did most of it Cameron, your dear mother wouldn’t let me near the turkey upon pain of death. I was mainly on vegetable chopping duty!”

Cameron turned to his mother who was looking down at her plate and blushing a brilliant red.

“You cooked this?” he asked in amazement.

“Yeah,” she said in a small voice.

“But…” he started. He couldn’t work out the polite way of telling his mum that her food usually sucked.

Cameron stared at his mother for a moment. Bernie carried on looking down at her plate but by her slightly uncomfortable facial expression, she clearly understood what he was trying to say.

“I’ve been practising,” she said in the end, “Serena’s been helping me learn. I wanted to learn.” Bernie lifted up her head to look at her two children. “I want to be a better mother to the both of you. Learning to cook is just the first step.”

Cameron heard Charlotte gasp beside him. He wanted more than anything to stand up, walk around the table and give his mum a hug. But despite all the changes in her he had seen recently, he wasn’t sure how she would react to such an obvious physical display of love. Instead he reached his hand across the table, carefully avoiding the food in the centre, and grasped her hand tight.

“I’m sorry, mum,” said Charlotte timidly, “I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you weren’t good enough as a mother.”

A small sob escaped from Bernie’s lips and she squeezed Cameron’s hand. Charlotte reached out and placed her hand over Cameron’s.

The other people around the table sat quietly, silently witnessing Bernie reconnect with her children. Serena edged her chair closer to Bernie’s and wrapped an arm around her waist. She whispered something into Bernie’s ear and Bernie nodded and smiled.

“Thank you Cam, Charlotte,” she said before dropping their hands with a final squeeze, “Now eat up before your food gets cold.”

Cam shot one last look at his mother, who was clearly trying to push her emotions back down inside herself, before picking up his fork and continuing to eat. Somehow, knowing that his mother had made the food, made it taste even better than before.

When they had all finished their main courses, Bernie went into the kitchen and returned with a giant Black forest cheesecake. Cameron’s eyes grew wide. He hadn’t thought he would have any room for pudding but looking at the cheesecake gave him other ideas.

“Wow, mum. Did you make this yourself as well?” he asked.

Bernie nodded shyly as she placed the cheesecake down in the middle of the table and disappeared back to the kitchen to collect clean plates and cutlery.

“Are we not having trifle?” asked Elinor when Bernie had left the room.

“Not this year, dear,” replied Serena calmly.

“But we always have trifle! It’s my favourite.”

Serena swiped her hand across her face.

“Elinor, darling, you like cheesecake. In fact the other day you were telling me how you wished we would eat it more often,” Serena said, her voice still calm.

“But I wanted trifle!” Elinor whined. 

Bernie walked back into the room just then and froze in the doorway. Serena turned to her and beckoned her closer.

“Please ignore my daughter. She is acting like a spoilt brat. This cheesecake looks amazing.”

Elinor folded her arms and leant back in her chair, sulking. Serena ignored her and smiled at Bernie who managed a weak smile back. She seemed calmed as Serena reached out a hand and caressed her arm.

“Would you like me to serve it out?” Serena asked.

“Yes please,” replied Bernie, her eyes darting over to look at Elinor, who was still sulking.

The cheesecake was just as good as it looked. Cameron managed two slices and even Elinor picked at a slice of her own. In the end, just Bernie and Cameron were still eating.

“Now I’ve finished lunch, can I go and watch Doctor Who?” asked Jason.

“Of course Jason,” said Serena, smiling kindly at her nephew.

Jason stood up and went off to the sitting room.

“So you're not going to make him sit and wait until everyone has finished?” asked Elinor, “I would never have got away with that when I was younger.”

“Well rules change,” said Serena, still amazingly calm.

“Evidently!” Elinor shot back, glaring at Bernie and Serena.

“Ok Elinor, that is enough. I don’t want to hear any more of your snide comments for the rest of the day,” Serena said, her voice shaking with repressed anger.

Elinor and Serena glared at each other across the table, each of them daring the other to respond. Cameron looked between them for a moment and then decided he was better off out of there. He carried his plate into the kitchen and then went to join Jason in the sitting room. Charlotte followed him through and sat down on the sofa with him.

“You okay?” he asked her. She had barely spoken during dinner and Cameron knew how much she struggled with social situations sometimes.

“I’m fine,” she said, curling into his side. He put his arm around her. “It’s nice to see mum so happy.”

Cameron hummed in agreement. He then placed his finger on his lips and pointed at Jason. The first episode of Doctor Who was just starting and Cameron knew how annoyed Jason got when people spoke during his programmes. Charlotte looked over and him and nodded. Cameron knew she wouldn’t mind. She might keep it quieter than most people but she was a huge fan of Doctor Who.

Bernie came through just as the first episode was finishing. She smiled as she saw her two children curled up together on the sofa.

“Hello Bernie,” said Jason, his concentration broken as the credits rolled on the screen, “Would you like to watch Doctor Who with us?”

“No thank you Jason,” she said smiling at him, “Me and Serena were going to go on a walk. Would any of you like to join us?”

Cameron and Charlotte both nodded their assent and untangled themselves on the sofa. All of their Christmas days in the past had included some kind of walk. If Bernie was around, the walks tended to be longer and more off the beaten track but even Marcus took them out for a quick walk around the block each year. Jason declined, preferring to carry on watching Doctor Who.

“Tell Elinor she can come and watch with me if she wants to,” he said as the three of them walked out of the room, “It might cheer her up a bit.”

Cameron wished that it was that easy to cheer up Elinor. That was going to be a long and unpleasant road to have to walk. He hoped she would never destroy the obvious happiness between Serena and his mum.


	6. Serena

Serena gently pulled Bernie’s arm to slow her down once they were out in the fields. Cam and Charlotte went on ahead, tossing a tennis ball between them as they walked. Serena took the opportunity of no prying eyes to slip her hand into Bernie’s and to press a kiss to her cheek.

“I’m sorry about Elinor,” she said.

Bernie turned her head to look her in the eyes. “It’s not your fault,” she said firmly, “She just needs time. It’s been a big shock for her.”

“I’d hoped she would be mature enough to let it lie over Christmas. I didn’t want this to ruin Christmas for everyone.”

Bernie pulled Serena into a one armed hug as they walked and whispered into her ear, “She hasn’t ruined Christmas. Not when I get to do this with you.”

Serena smiled a thin smile. “You’re very sweet but I feel sorry for the other kids.”

Bernie pulled away slightly to indicate towards Cam and Charlotte who were chatting and laughing away in the distance. “Cam and Charlotte are having a great time. Sure there have been moments but when aren’t there at Christmas. And Jason has been on top of the world all day. A bit of Doctor Who and he probably hasn’t even noticed the tension.”

Serena smiled gently. “I’m glad your children came,” she said quietly, “I’m glad you are building bridges there.”

“Me too Serena. And you will with Elinor as well. Charlotte didn’t speak to me for months after the divorce and my affair came out and now look at her.”

Charlotte was looking back at Serena and Bernie from across the field and smiling at them walking together arm in arm. Serena felt a blush reach her cheeks. She still wasn’t quite used to being open about her relationship with Bernie. She had never really been one for big public displays of affection and now with Bernie being a woman it was all so new and strange. Random strangers felt that they had the right to comment on their relationship in a way that never happened with the heterosexual relationships she had been in previously. It wasn’t all negative comments at all but she found that they could never just fade into the background when they were holding hands or when Bernie leant over to kiss her cheek in a cafe. Someone was always looking on and noticing.

Bernie felt Serena stiffen next to her at Charlotte’s glance and pulled her in closer.

“Charlotte likes you a lot, you know,” she said.

“She does?” Serena asked, surprise showing on her face.

“Yeah, she told me as we were putting on our shoes earlier. She said I’d done really well to find someone as lovely as you.”

Serena felt the colour return to her cheeks for a different reason. “I’m the one that has done well,” she said, trying to hide her embarrassment at the compliment, “How on earth I managed to find someone as beautiful and kind as you, I will never know.”

Bernie responded by pulling them over to a handy tree, ducking out of sight of the kids. Serena found herself with her back firmly against the tree.

“Ms Wolfe! What do you think you are doing?” she asked coyly.

“This,” said Bernie before kissing her passionately. 

Serena wrapped her arms around Bernie and pulled her in closer. She opened her mouth to allow Bernie’s probing tongue access and let herself drown in the sensations.

The kiss didn’t last long. Bernie pulled herself away and Serena felt the loss of her closeness. She groaned and tried to drag Bernie back towards her.

“Not here, Serena. The kids will get suspicious if we disappear for too long.”

“They are grown ups now, I’m sure they’d understand,” Serena replied, just wanting to feel Bernie’s lips on hers again.

Bernie pressed a chaste kiss against her lips and then moved out of Serena’s reach.

“Come on Ms Campbell,” she said, “Best be getting back. It’ll be getting dark soon and who knows what might happen in the dark!”

Serena grinned and pushed herself away from the tree. She grabbed Bernie’s gloved hand and they walked back along the path towards Cam and Charlotte.

The sun was beginning to set as the four of them made it back to the house. From the sounds coming from the sitting room, Jason was clearly still watching Doctor Who. Serena stuck her head around the door.

“Everything ok Jason?” she asked.

“Yes Auntie Serena,” came  the reply. Jason didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

“Do you know where Elinor is?” she asked, glancing around the room to establish that she wasn’t there.

“I think she is still upstairs. I haven’t seen her all afternoon.”

“Ok. Thanks Jason.”

Serena left Bernie and her children in the kitchen. Despite the large meal they had consumed at lunchtime, all three of them were suddenly starving and Bernie was making them some toast. It seemed that a bottomless appetite ran in the Wolfe genes. She headed upstairs to find Elinor.

Serena knocked on Elinor’s bedroom door. There was no response but Serena was fairly certain she could hear movement. She knocked again.

“Elinor, it’s me. Can I come in?” she shouted through the door.

The door swung open and Elinor stood there, suitcase in her hand.

“Are you going somewhere darling?” Serena asked cautiously, not wanting to cause another argument.

“I’m going to dad’s,” Elinor said, pushing past Serena. Serena felt a stab of pain as she realised that her daughter didn’t want to stay with her. She pushed it down. She wasn’t going to let Elinor make her feel this way, just because she had fallen for a woman.

“Do you need a lift?” she asked, trying to act like this was a perfectly normal thing for Elinor to do. She supposed it was really. Elinor spent a lot of her vacation time at her dad’s now. She had felt her daughter slipping away from her well before this current disagreement.

“Dad and Liberty are coming to get me,” Elinor replied.

“Oh. Ok then.”

Serena stood at the top of the stairs as she watched her only child walk away from her down the stairs and out of the front door. Elinor turned briefly as she left and waved at Serena. Serena managed to lift her hand slightly before Elinor had turned back and shut the front door. Serena crumpled where she stood. She barely heard the running footsteps up the stairs or felt Bernie’s arms as they wrapped around her. She cried for the lost relationship with her daughter, wondering where it was that she had gone so wrong. She let Bernie pull her into her chest as she sobbed.

Eventually the tears calmed down. Serena wiped her face on the tissue Bernie produced.

“Elinor?” Bernie asked quietly.

“Gone to Edward’s.”

“Right.”

They sat in silence on the floor of the landing for a few more minutes, Bernie’s fingers combing through Serena’s hair.

“Jason said the new Doctor Who episode is starting soon. Shall we join him?” Bernie eventually said, her hand not leaving Serena’s hair.

Serena nodded and let Bernie help her to her feet. They slowly walked down the stairs into the sitting room where they found the three remaining children in front of the tv eating mounds of hot, buttery toast. Bernie sunk into the empty sofa and Serena collapsed down next to her. She let her head rest on Bernie’s shoulder and was pleased to feel Bernie’s arm snaking around her. She looked around the room as Peter Capaldi made his latest appearance on the tv to see four happy faces. She snuggled closer into Bernie and prayed to a god she no longer believed in that one day Elinor would be ready to join them and make this strange little family complete.


	7. Bernie

Cameron drove Charlotte back to Marcus’s at around 8. He had finished work and they wanted to spend at least some of Christmas with him. Bernie hugged them both tight in the hallway and made them promise to come around and visit more often. She had been so grateful to the pair of them for taking the day in their stride. However much she tried to hide it, their approval was incredibly important to her.

“I’m so happy for you, mum,” Cameron whispered in her ear as they hugged, “Hang on to her.”

“I think I might just do that,” she replied, kissing him on the cheek.

The rest of the evening was spent drinking Shiraz on the sofa with Serena while Jason watched more Doctor Who. Jason headed up to his room at around 10 leaving Bernie and Serena curled up together on the sofa, Serena’s head on Bernie’s shoulder, both of their arms wrapped around the other.

“This is nice,” sighed Bernie as Serena snuggled closer to her.

“Mmm,” Serena replied, too tired to use words.

Bernie pulled Serena onto her lap. She kissed the top of her head gently.

“I think it might be bedtime, my dear,” she whispered into Serena’s ear.

“Five more minutes,” came the sleepy reply. 

Bernie didn’t argue. How could she argue when she had a beautiful, kind, amazing woman wrapped around her? She smiled to herself as she thought how lucky she was. She never in a million years believed that she would be able to have a relationship like the one she was now in. And she definitely never thought that her children would ever approve of such a relationship. And yet they had all spent a lovely Christmas together. She ran her fingers through Serena’s hair as she thought of Elinor. She was as stubborn as her mother but Bernie was sure she would come around given time.

Serena’s breathing began to even out as she drifted off. Bernie shook her gently.

“Come on, let’s get you into bed.”

Serena groaned but allowed Bernie to pull her upright and help her up the stairs. She collapsed onto the bed and Bernie proceeded to undress her and pull on her pyjamas. She slipped under the covers as Bernie got herself ready for bed. She stood at the end of the bed and stared at Serena for a moment. She couldn’t help smiling at her. Every time she looked at Serena, she felt this overwhelming feeling of love. She climbed into bed next to Serena and pulled her flush against her chest. Serena laced her fingers through Bernie’s.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, “You have been amazing today.”

“No problem,” replied Bernie, kissing Serena’s head.

Serena twisted in Bernie’s arms until she was facing her, their noses brushing. She pressed her lips against Bernie’s in a chaste kiss before pulling back. 

“I love you,” Serena said and Bernie felt her cheeks burn bright red. She pulled back from Serena. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hear it from Serena. And it definitely wasn’t that she didn’t feel it herself. But she really wasn’t ready to say it outloud. And Serena was looking at her with those expressive eyes as though she wanted to hear it back.

Serena pulled Bernie back in tight.

“You don’t have to say anything darling,” she said, “I can tell how you feel. One day, when you feel ready, it would be nice to hear the words, but until then just keep showing me instead.”

Serena kissed Bernie again and Bernie allowed herself to relax. She loved Serena so much. Every day just proved it more and more. And one day she would feel ready to say those words. She smiled a shy smile as Serena pulled away.

“Merry Christmas my darling,” Serena said, “Now go to sleep.”

And Bernie did, wrapped in Serena’s arms, dreaming of Serena and her children, more relaxed than she had been in years.


End file.
